


The Map {A Reylo One-Shot}

by jennyraylen



Series: Reylo [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Alternate Universe, F/M, Movie: Star Wars: The Force Awakens, One Shot, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:14:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27696110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jennyraylen/pseuds/jennyraylen
Summary: Kylo Ren returns to Rey's cell to retrieve the map to Luke Skywalker after his first failure. He finds her struggling against her restraints but still very much trapped. This time, he will not fail.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: Reylo [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1901710
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	The Map {A Reylo One-Shot}

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't a TFA Reylo so I apologize if this is already heavily treaded ground. I had an idea while rewatching TFA and couldn't resist writing something.

Kylo Ren marched through the halls of Starkiller, toward where he’d left the girl. _I will not fail this time,_ he thought, clenching his fists. He had let her find her way into his head, worm her way into one of his greatest weaknesses. How, he still could not be sure. _She’s so strong._ Stronger than she could possibly know. 

This time he would not hesitate. He’d dig into her mind, find the map, and it’d be done. He’d have everything he needed to finally find Skywalker.

He turned toward the room, passing a stormtrooper who nodded at him and walked away. Kylo closed the door, giving the two of them some sense of privacy.

The girl pulled pointlessly against her constraints, grunting in frustration. She froze as she saw him, meeting his eyes, and her fearful gaze turned to a glare. “What do you want?”

So feisty. Even now, she didn’t let her fear show. _She’d be an excellent student,_ thought Kylo. _Strong in the Dark._

He didn’t respond, wordlessly reaching out his hand to dig into her mind and find the map before she could struggle against his efforts.

Immediately he hit a wall, and she snarled, pushing back. He pushed harder, refusing to let her strength catch him off guard as it had before, but he felt her digging through his mind even as he dug through hers.

Her eyes went wide as she explored his memories. He pulled back, disconnecting before he could find what he was looking for, cutting her off. The girl gasped for air, and he turned away, clenching his fists. “How will I explain this to the Supreme Leader?” he muttered. _Mastered by some scavenger._

The memories she’d pulled to the surface played in his mind like a horrible, haunted loop. He and his father, flying the Falcon together. Training under Skywalker. The night they’d sent him away, throwing their own son away like garbage.

“You’re Han Solo’s child,” muttered the girl. “But...how?”

“You wouldn’t understand,” he snapped, turning his masked face toward her. “What it’s like to live with a legacy like my own. With _him_ as your father.”

The girl looked at him, her eyes shining brightly with confusion and conflict. “What happened?”

“It doesn’t matter.” He took a breath, steadying his emotions, and spun, reaching into her mind. She hissed, pulling back, and yet he could find nothing. She’d blocked him off, something no one had ever managed to do against his probes. He left her mind and paced the room. “How are you doing this?” he practically shouted. “You’re nothing but a scavenger! It’s impossible.” He pulled out his blade, striking it against the wall until it mirrored the anger he felt inside, broken parts sparking. Utter silence filled the chambers afterward, the girl staring at him after his outburst.

She cast her gaze aside. “I don’t know.” He could feel her fear at her power, leaching out into the room like a physical object. It mirrored his own fear, at his legacy, and the power he helmed. That before her, none had rivaled.

“I do understand,” she muttered. “Feeling like your parents threw you away like you were nothing. Hoping they’d return one day and finally make it right. Waiting.” She laughed darkly. “I know all about waiting.”

His anger abated at her words. His breath steadied. “You…” He turned his gaze to her. “How is this possible?” His full question lay unasked, but he saw in her eyes that she understood. _How can you know me when no one does?_ He felt, in the Force somehow, that she felt the same way.

They’d grown up so differently. She, all alone, a nobody on a nowhere planet, barely scraping by. He, a prince by blood and child of heroes, loved by all. And yet, they shared one important thing, something no one but the other had ever seemed to understand.

Total, all-encompassing loneliness.

He reached up, removing his mask, and allowed Rey to take in his features. She’d stopped struggling against her constraints and just stared. Sharing this mutual pining, this longing for what might have been.

But they were enemies. That remained true, no matter what Kylo or Rey might have wished. They would always be separated by lines in the sand, separated by good and evil, light and dark.

And he would not allow himself to be seduced.

“Ben…” she began. The word felt right on her lips, and he found his muscles relaxing despite himself. _That is not my name,_ he reminded himself halfheartedly. _She has no right to call me by it._ And yet he didn't correct her.

“I’ll let you in,” she whispered. “I...I’ll let you see the map. But you must promise not to take anything else. Not even _look_ at anything else.”

He stared, taken aback. “Why?”

Rey looked down and took a deep breath. “Just do it,” she whispered. “Before I change my mind.”

He reached out his hand, and she snapped up, her eyes sharp. “But you must promise me something.”

“What do you wish?”

“You must free me. And we will never speak of this again. I’ll tell them you took it by force. No one will ever have to know.” Kylo nodded, understanding. No one would have no know his weakness, his inability to face his demons or best this scavenger girl. And no one would have to know she was a traitor to the Resistance. It could be their secret. Forever.

“It shall be so,” he said, his voice soft. He stepped forward. “I’ll be gentle.”

She nodded, closing her eyes, bracing for the probe. “Just be quick about it.”

He obeyed, retrieving the map from her mind and storing it in his own. _Finally,_ he could track down Skywalker and end it all. He snapped his helmet on. “Thank you.”

He released her restraints, then paused. “Stay here.”

He left the cell, returning with a blaster, and handed it to Rey, who stood free, rubbing her sore wrists. “Thank you,” she echoed, taking it from him.

They stared at one another, this mutual secret hanging between them, and Kylo froze. _Han Solo._

“What is it?” she asked, somehow sensing his distress. “Your father.” How she knew still astounded him. “He’s here.”

“Yes.”

Rey stepped forward until she stood only inches from his body, so small compared to him, and yet he felt her determination and grit with every breath. “Whatever you’re thinking...don’t do it. You don’t have to.”

“You don’t understand.” He felt breathless, her standing so close, and yet he couldn’t fathom why. “It must be done. I must complete my training.”

She narrowed her eyes, wrinkling her nose in confusion as she studied his mask. Then, she stepped back, horror finally filling her eyes. _There it is,_ the thought. _The disgust she felt, back as quickly as it’d gone._ He’d been stupid to ever hope it could disappear for good. “No,” she said. “You can’t. He’s your _father._ ”

He turned his back to her, unable to continue looking into her dark eyes. “I must.”

“I won’t let you.”

Kylo turned his head. “And how do you plan on stopping me, exactly?”

She blinked, casting her gaze around the room as though searching for an answer. “It doesn’t matter! You can’t do that, not to your father. It’s not right!”

“Isn’t it?”

“No!” She raised her blaster, pointing it at his chest, and he stepped back. “It’s murder.”

He huffed. “Wouldn’t you be doing the same if you shot me now?”

Her eyes cleared of their fury, focusing on him for a moment. She stood there, and he longed to look into her mind and see what she was thinking, but a promise was a promise, and he held himself back.

She pressed a button to her side. The doors slid open. Then Rey fled from the room, escaping before he could say another word.

He did not bother to follow her, keeping his side of the bargain.

He’d find Han Solo before she did. And he’d end this, once and for all.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm never going to write more of this, but I thought I'd share my thoughts on where this would all end up and how it'd change from canon.
> 
> The rest of The Force Awakens is largely the same, but when Rey leaves to find Luke Skywalker, Kylo is on his way to Luke at the same time.
> 
> Rey finds Luke Skywalker first, and when Kylo Ren shows up she basically acts as Luke's guard. Kylo Ren is forced to hang out with the fish nuns since he can't get to Luke without going through Rey first. Kylo Ren and Rey slowly fall in love on Ahch-To, similar to in The Last Jedi.
> 
> Meanwhile, The Last Jedi proceeds nearly unchanged outside of the Reylo subplot. Kylo Ren and Luke face off eventually, and Kylo defeats him. He ends up really injured though, and Rey leaves the planet to take him to the Resistance to save his life. She finds them on Crait, and everything ends the same way except now Kylo is on the Falcon with the Resistance and they all freak out despite him being unconscious from his injuries.
> 
> Snoke dies during Holdo's sacrifice and Hux takes over in Kylo's absence. Kylo eventually wakes up once they're on Ryloth like in Resistance Reborn. Kylo is slowly redeemed and taken in by the Resistance against his will. Poe, Rose, and Finn are forced to watch their friend dote on a First Order agent and eventually befriend him as well. It's very sweet. Since he's had a full year to be redeemed, Rey and Ben face Palpatine together from the start and they both live happily ever after. The End.


End file.
